Virgin Australia Called Kanye West a 'Douche' on Twitter, and It Was an Agency's Fault

Carat Australia Took Blame and Apologized

A startling and totally out-of-context tweet popped up on Virgin Australia's official Twitter feed this week: "@kanyewest EAD you douche." It quickly disappeared, but not before it was saved and shared.

Virgin Australia apologized, but said none of its employees were to blame; it pledged to investigate the tweet, which was a response to Mr. West griping about a review in Pitchfork. Pitchfork had rated his new album 9 out of 10; Mr. West tweeted that it deserved "30 out of 10." That was right before he asked "white publications" like Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and The New York Times to please "not comment on black music anymore."

Since Virgin Australia said none of its employees had sent the tweet, some media incorrectly assumed the airline's account had been hacked. Helpfully, they also defined what the choice acronym in the airline's tweet means. "EAD is slang for "Eat A Dick," the Sydney Morning Herald wrote.

Carat Australia, which reportedly has the airline as a client, cleared up some of the mystery Wednesday.

Carat Australia apologises for a recent Tweet that we mistakenly posted on Virgin Australia's account. We regret any damage possibly caused.

The airline could not be reached for comment at press time on the Carat Australia tweet.

In other news, a Virgin Australia flight en route to Los Angeles from Sydney was diverted and searched Wednesday after being targeted by a bomb threat that wound up being a hoax. On Twitter, the airline never mentioned it.